Although negotiations between management and the staff delegation succeeded in reducing the number of affected jobs from 470 to 370, both unions say this still represents a massive loss of jobs.
At the same time, there are many uncertainties, particularly regarding how new employment can be found for 370 people who worked in a specific field.
There are also unresolved questions concerns employees who came to Luxembourg from countries such as India or Pakistan to work at Amazon, and whether they might now be forced to return to their home countries, asks Maria-Helena Macedo of the LCGB. These are people that came to the Grand Duchy with a long-term perspective for their future and are now abruptly “thanked” by being sent into unemployment.
The unions are now insisting on receiving the profiles of these employees so they can be evaluated by the Conjuncture Committee to determine whether they could be employed elsewhere.
Isabel Scott of the OGBL further specified that with this social plan, Amazon ranks first in terms of job cuts. The company is followed by TDK, which implemented a social plan affecting 342 jobs in 2006. The example is to illustrate just how significant and regrettable the situation is for Luxembourg.
On Friday, Amazon had informed staff and the press in a written statement that a social plan affecting 370 people would be implemented, with talks with the affected employees expected to begin in February.
